Jeremiah was a Prophet, chosen and set apart for his ministry by the Lord, in eternity past. We know this from His statement in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, set thee apart for service."

In fact, the first part of verse 5 says that "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee", referring to Jeremiah who God knew in His mind in eternity past. Jeremiah was set apart to be the "prophet to the nations" which included the nation of Israel as well.

In Jeremiah 16 the Lord, through Jeremiah, speaks to the Jews about the way their fathers failed to obey the Lord and walk in His way. Then he says to them, verse 12, "and ye have done worse than your fathers".

This is exactly what is happening among the Jews today, but there is a "spiritual application" in these verses as well. The "Body of Christ", the Church, is moving each and every day away from the purpose of the Church, set in place by Jesus, the "Head of the Church".

The purpose of the Church is basically two-fold, to be Holy as He is Holy and to go out into the world and win people to the Lord for their eternal salvation. By the way, we are to "go out" not try and bring the people into the church.

The early Church, during the first century, set the pattern, Acts 5:42. The new Christians daily went into the Temple, which was not a church, but a gathering place, and house to house as they "ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ".

This is a "spiritual application" from this passage. As we come back now to the "technical interpretation" of the passage notice in verses 13-15 that the Lord speaks of scattering the Jews across the world, casting them out of their land to places they knew not, where they would serve other gods and the Lord would show them no favor.

Verse 14 reveals that the day will come when the Jews will not speak of the "Exodus" at the Passover Seder, as is the custom, but instead will talk about how the Lord brought them from the "land of the north" verse 15, and all the lands where they had been scattered for the last 2,000 years.

This prophecy is being fulfilled even today as we witness over one million Jews from Russia, the "land to the north", immigrating into Israel. There are Jews who have come from over one hundred nations of the world, back into the land as Jeremiah said they would do in the last days.

Please notice one other verse before we leave this passage. It's our key verse for today, verse 17. "They are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity hidden from my eyes." The eyes of the Lord are upon us at all times. He sees everything that we do, 24/7.

That is an awesome thought as we watch the Jews returning to the land, nearing the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. That Bible prophecy will be completely fulfilled at a time soon after we have departed from earth at the Rapture. At that point we will stand face to face with Jesus. That could happen very soon, perhaps today.

PRAYER THOT: Please Lord help me to live in the realization that Your eyes are upon me at all times.